this is "world news." tonight, triple threat. look what's happening out west. cars sliding on snowy roads, 30 million people facing blizzards, floods, or ttornadoes. heart of conflict. a government shot out of the sky in syria and our terry moran is there. as abc's david muir makes his way into the secretive center of iran. credit card warning for 20 million people. phony fees companies are putting on your bill. how to stop them and save money tonight. and robin's journey. back on "gma." what happened behind the scenes? and what she did specifically to make sure she could start this day. >> i have been waiting 174 days to say this -- good morning, america.

good evening. as we come on the air, a giant witch's brew of weather is marching across the country, arctic air, snow, ice, even the threat of tornadoes. tonight, 30 million people, 19 states from arizona to illinois are in the storm zone, under watches and warnings. and here are some pictures that tell the story. out in california, a school bus sliding off a snow-covered highway. and in arizona, a cactus is frosty white. abc's weather editor sam champion has tracked it all. >> reporter: it started as a brutal wintry blast covering california with wind, rain and snow. drivers unprepared for the messy conditions slipped, skidded and spun out, causing pileups. >> it's terrible, because they

can't clean the roads. and it will just get worse. >> reporter: and stranding hundreds of drivers, some for hours after icy highways were shut down. >> i was going to sonora. >> i know, but it's not the road, it's too icy. we keep having people spin off the roads. school bus to slide off the >> reporter: ice caused this school bus to slide off the road, injuring four students and the bus driver. also reported, two tornadoes, one confirmed touchdown in gerber, california, tearing off the roof of a barn. and now the storm moves east. officials already helping distressed drivers on snow-covered roads in kansas. in arizona today, the pga suspended its champion because of snow-covered greens. at tulsa international airport, workers raced to clear off planes through nearly whiteout conditions. snowfall will stretch from denver, where up to six inches is expected wednesday, and head east, with up to a foot or more expected west of kansas city by late thursday. now the nation's heartland preparing for what could be the worst storm to hit the midwest

since the groundhog day blizzard in 2011. the snow may not be the only problem, and diane, it may not be the biggest problem. look at this storm system, when it finally gets together. you are not seven eaching the real storm. the storm really kicks in tomorrow, getting all its energy. it has a layer of ice and that's basically, already ice storm warnings out for northern arkansas and southern missouri. that's miserable ice, we think. and this line of severe storms from new orleans, including texas, all the way to mississippi. those storms could have or the nay domes in them. we could be reporting on all of it during the day tomorrow. just something everyone should look for. >> a lot of everything. >> reporter: a lot. >> heading their way. thank you so much, sam. good to see you tonight. and now, we head off to south africa and the big twist today in the case against olympian oscar pistorius. at his bail hearing, the prosecution was under pressure, backing away from a claim about steroids near his bed. abc's bazi kanani, back on the story for us. >> reporter: stoic, oscar pistorius back in court

today, as prosecutors argued he was too much a flight risk to grant bail, showing blueprints and explaining what happened the night he shot his girlfriend, model reeva steenkamp. pistorius had said they were both sleeping when he woke, heard a noise, grabbed his gun from under the bed and rushed into the bathroom. but prosecutors say pistorius would have had to cross the bed to get to the bathroom and should have noticed steenkamp was not in it. and they say this is key -- they intend to use ballistics to show he was already wearing his prosthetic legs when firing his gun -- hoping to disprove his testimony that he woke in the middle of the night and rushed to confront an intruder without taking time to put on his prosthetics. >> hear, the prosecution has a very critical piece of evidence that could determine whether his story was accurate or not. >> reporter: but in a series of missteps, prosecutors revealed the witness who claimed to hear yelling was up to six football fields away, and backtracked from claims they found needles

and testosterone in the house, saying test results aren't back yet. >> oscar will survive. he will have a tough time going forward. but he's a survive var. >> reporter: bazi kanani, abc news, pretoria, south africa. next, we head into the heart of two dangerous countries in the middle east. iran and syria. two countries on a hair trigger, with powerful consequences for the united states. our correspondents are nationed in both hot spots tonight, and in iran, they continue to enrich uranium for nuclear purposes. does this mean nuclear weapons? can they be stopped? abc's david muir leads us off. he is there on the eve of the crucial talks. good evening, david. >> reporter: diane, good evening. we are coming to you live from tehran tonight. iran has allowed us in at this critical moment. the u.s. and much of the west convinced that iran continues to work toward those nuclear weapons. iran, of course, denying this

and, as you point out, we are just days away now from the u.s. and iran joining a small group of others as they return to the negotiating table. we landed in iran, in a country where american journalists are rarely allowed to visit. rarer still, we were given access to the people, the streets of tehran. above ground, a bustling city of 12 million. below ground, we discover a gleaming subway system, far quieter and cleaner than the famous subways of new york city. and there was something else very different. this says "women only" right here. the back of the train, reserved for women. but beyond the trains, the traffic, everywhere you look, there is something else on the move here. the prices. skyrocketing inflation. their currency losing 80% of its value in just the last year. u.s.-led sanctions tying an economic noose around iran. it's being felt by this young woman and her mother. >> day to day, increasing prices. >> reporter: you see it day to

day? >> yes. i think it's a lot of pressure to the people. >> reporter: the iranian people. >> iranian people. most of them, the normal people. >> reporter: the relationship between the u.s. and iran never recovered after those 444 days, americans held hostage as the world watched. right here in the heart of downtown tehran, what used to be the u.s. embassy. of course, the infamous backdrop of the hostage crisis that began unfolding in '79. you can see the gates still here, still closed decades later, and behind us here, what used to be the seal. you can sill faintly make out united states of america. still today, the walls here painted with anti-american murals, the guard stations empty. and tonight, many here are hoping for an end to the sanctions, to the nuclear standoff. >> we hope. we hope. >> reporter: you hope it ends? >> better days. >> reporter: meantime tonight, one of iran's closest allies, syria, also being watched by the world.

as conditions quickly detier area rate, as a assad struggles to hold onto power. abc's terry morgan is in damacus. >> reporter: david, less than a mile from here, just over there, there's another hotel, a small place, where visiting sports teams will stay. it's just near the stadium. this afternoon, the war came there. a rebel mortar shell fired from the suburbs blasted out windows and scattered shrapnel into the building, killing a young soccer player. soccer player. "my friend was in front of me and he died," he tells me. "we are all just athletes," he says. "we have nothing to do with this violence." in hamouriyah, a suburb just a few miles away from the hostel, at least 13 people were killed in an apparent government airstrike. and a rebel group released this video today, which they claim shows them shooting down a syrian jet fighter. this afternoon, we went to the main military hospital in damascus. syrian forces are taking heavy

casualties in this war, as many as 16,000 killed. this general, his legs badly shot up, his spirit defiant. i ask him about the allegations that his troops are massacring civilians. "this is a false accusation," he tells me, "and had it come down to me, i would have adopted a scorched earth policy with these armed men." but life somehow goes on here. you can still stroll through the old market. we bought nuts from a very enthusiastic merchant. and you can still enter the splendid ummayad mosque at dusk, an ancient house of god, an oasis of peace, where the people pray and the children play on an endless carpet, while, outside, their nation drowns in the blood of civil war. terry more wran ran, abc news, damascus. >> terry moran and david muir in the middle east for us tonight. and back here at home, a

dramatic turn in the wheel of fortune for former congressman jesse jackson jr. mree pleads guilty to lavish abuse of campaign money and offering a tearful apology to his famous father. here's abc's seen yonior justic correspondent pierre thomas. >> reporter: today, congressman jesse jackson, jr. left court in disgrace, breaking months of silence. >> it's not a proud day. i'm sorry i let everybody down. >> reporter: the son of the iconic civil rights leader, and one-time presidential candidate, had been a rising star. even speaking at the 2008 democratic national convention. but today, jackson was in court weeping as a convicted felon. he turned to his father to say i'm sorry. jackson admitted to stealing $750,000 in campaign funds for personal gain. memorabilia from michael jackson, jimi hendrix and bruce lee. furs, home furnishings, a rolex watch worth $43,000. jackson now faces more than four

years in prison, as part of his guilty plea, and likely will serve time. not a future jackson or his father ever expected. pierre thomas, abc news, washington. and now, we want you to know about a new consumer alert about a kind of fraud called cramming. small charges $10, $20, $30 secretly inserted onto your credit card bill. small charges that add up to millimeters of dollars. and today, a big new warning from the ftc. abc's cecilia vega explains. >> reporter: it hits consumers straight in the wallet -- a $30 charge here, $40 there, buried so deep in your credit card bills, you might never even notice it. tens of thousands of americans were hit with what the ftc calls fake fees, charge it by vague financial services, like debt 2 wealth, draining more than $24 million in all. >> it was smart of them to steal little amounts at a time hoping consumers just don't notice. these people were already hurting.

>> reporter: many of the consumers had recently applied for a payday loan or cash advance when they spotted the charge on the bill and called the toll free number next to it to complain. they entered an infuriating maze of call centers around the globe. it's called cramming. the ftc says 20 million people a year fall victim to it. and until now, most of the charges were buried in phone bills. >> i think $9.99 was the lowest charge and $49.99 was the largest charge. >> reporter: that's exactly what happened to susan from georgia. the best advice? inspect your bills. line by line. and if there's a bogus charge, dispute it right away with your credit card company. cecilia vega, abc news, los angeles. >> big consumer beware out there tonight. and still ahead here on "world news," she is back. >> good morning, america! >> our robin roberts. what happened offcamera on this big morning?

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right beside her and she is with me. so great to be with you this morning. >> reporter: so good to see you, diane. it was beautiful. as you know, as well as anyone, diane, it was -- robin was going to be back, it was going to take her months, and it was going to ask everything of her, all that she had to give, but today, after so public and painful a road and with a touch of nerves, she made it all the way back. >> five minutes to air. >> there you go, baby. yeah! >> five. four. three. >> hi, it's robin. and i have been waiting 174 days to say this -- good morning, america! >> reporter: what no one could see in front of the camera, what we saw behind the scenes, of a morning we'd all longed for. >> faith, family and friends have brought me to this moment, and i am so full of gratitude. >> reporter: a day of celebration after an arduous trek that began last june, when

she first told us. >> it is a rare blood disorder that affects the bone marrow. >> reporter: to a few months later when we saw her in treatment, receiving her sister's precious bone marrow. >> this journey is as much about the mind as it is about the body. >> reporter: we prayed with her. we sang. we watched in awe as she fought. >> i know my former teammates at southeastern, they'd be like, two? two pounds? that's it? yeah, that's it, but it's one more pound than i did the last time. >> reporter: she willed her body to match her spirit, all leading up to today. how was it? >> like riding a bike. >> reporter: so, shaky and bumpy and all over the road? >> you know, my doctor said to me a few days ago, he said, it's time to take off the training wheels. it feels good. and i just wanted to come back to work. >> reporter: her doctors reminded us that she's still walking the path to recovery.

>> today is the dress rehearsal. >> i don't care who the interview is with. if you're not well enough to go, you're not going. >> reporter: record bin's got a busy few days ahead of her, with the oscars and an interview with the first lady. >> i have to say, physically, i feel -- i have good -- i have better platelets than sally ann right now. >> reporter: her sister quite literally with robin now, every step of the way. >> it was the easiest thing in the world to be a donor, and i'm just so amazed at your strength. >> reporter: and at long last, robin's remarkable journey had finally taken her home. i know everybody, nobody should touch her. nobody should touch her, but i get to. i got special. welcome back. >> thank you. >> reporter: thanks, partner. >> thank you. >> reporter: and when she left, diane, we saul swore that oath of friends and family that her fight would be our fight and then we were all left to wait and to hope and she did what she's always done. she fought and she won and so did we all.

>> and she was so back. what is she talking about training wheels? come on. two-wheeler. >> reporter: come on. she's in the fast lane if ever there was one. >> for sure. and i want you to know on friday, i'm going to sit down with my friend and we will talk about everything as we always do. and it's part of a special edition of "20/20," robin's journey, at 10:00 p.m. eastern. coming up next here, what do you think of mrs. obama's official new portrait? it's in our "instant index." [ male announcer ] you like who you are... and you learned something along the way. this is the age of knowing what you're made of. so, why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. 20 million men already have. ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours.

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and our "instant index" tonight begins with a surprise move from the nearly bankrupt postal service today. they announced they are going to launch a new line of clothing next year, hoping to raise money to ease their $16 billion budget gap. it will be called rain, heat and snow and feature outer wear with electronic wiring so you can plug in your ipod while you walk. plug it into your jacket. and, the first lady, her bangs will now hang on the walls of history. michelle obama tweeted out today, a new term, a new official portrait. here she was, when it was all brand new, the president's first term. now, four years later, first lady in charge. and take that nobel prize, they've got some competition today from very rich 21st century backers. internet titans, who have established the breakthrough prize in life sciences. it was the brain child of mark

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him to some one-on-one. >> reporter: lots of kids dream of being the next lebron james or kobe bryant. but julian newman may just have a shot. only 11 years old, he's playing guys two feet taller and seven years older. and guess what? he's beating them. >> they think that i'm not good or -- but when they see me, they see different. >> reporter: this fifth grader is already the starting point guard on his high school's varsity basketball team. that's right. fresh from elementary school, julian plays for the high school varsity team. >> right away, we knew he had a talent. >> reporter: his dad, also his coach, helped put together julian's highlight reel on youtube. it's going viral, with more than 2 million hits and counting. now, he's being watched by recruiters. has it hit you yet that you're now this big star? >> no. >> reporter: so, we put him to the test. you want to go a little one-on-one? >> okay. >> reporter: at 4'5", it sure seems like i have the advantage.

but julian is quick. bucket! this kid is one to watch. on the court and in the classroom. a straight-a student with hoop dreams. nice job! john schriffen, abc news, new york. keep up the good work, we'll be watching. >> okay, julian. pick on someone your own size next time, okay? and we thank you for watching. we're always working for you at abcnews.com. "nightline" later at its new time, 12:35 a.m. eastern. and we'll see you right back here again tomorrow night. good night.